NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Rory McIlroy knows exactly why he was never able to make a real run at winning the PGA Championship on Sunday at Aronimink.
Three holes cost him the chance to win his seventh major championship, third in the past two years and second in a row.
McIlroy failed to birdie either of the two par-5 holes — Nos. 9 and 16, both of which were birdie festivals for many players in the tournament.
He took disappointing pars on both.
And he bogeyed the 299-yard driveable par-4 No. 13 with an errant tee shot that sailed way right of the green.
“Not birdieing the two par 5s and bogeying the drivable par 4,’’ McIlroy said. “Looking back, I’ll rue those three holes. I played the golf I feel like I needed to play the rest of the way … other than those three holes.
“If I birdie those par 5s and turn that five [on 13] into a three, the day looks very different.’’
McIlroy, one of the game’s biggest hitters, finished even par on the par 5s during the week.
By contrast, the PGA winner, Aaron Rai, went 3 under par on the par 5s on Sunday and was 6 under for the tournament.
Jordan Spieth’s 11th attempt at completing the career Grand Slam passed this week with not enough putts made.
Spieth finished tied for 18th after shooting 69-72-69-68 and finished 1 under par, never truly putting himself into contention over the weekend.
Spieth’s ball-striking was excellent all week, as he ranked No. 1 in the field in accuracy and third in strokes gained tee to green.
But he was ranked 79th in the field in strokes gained putting and his 31 putts per round ranked 58th.
He’ll have to wait another year, for the 2027 PGA Championship at PGA Frisco in Texas, his home state.
Even though neither won the PGA on Sunday, the lives of both Alex Smalley and Matti Schmid, who were paired in the final group, changed significantly.
Smalley, who took a two-shot lead into the final round, finished tied for second after shooting even par to finish 6 under.
Schmid shot a 1-under 69 and finished tied for fourth at 5 under.
Those finishes got both Smalley and Schmid into the 2027 Masters and PGA Championship.
The top four and ties in the PGA earn players a Masters invitation and top 15 gets them into the following year’s PGA.
“Thrilled to be going to Augusta next year,’’ Smalley, who’s never played a Masters, said. “I knew that top four and ties gets you into Augusta, so I knew that was a possibility. I wasn’t really thinking about it honestly until I hit the green on 18, saw where I was.’’
Smalley called the week “special.’’
“As far as this tournament, in terms of my career, who knows?’’ he said. “Maybe it’s a springboard. It gives me a lot of confidence coming away from this week to know that I can compete on the PGA Tour and even some of the major championships.’’
Schmid called this week “one of the best tournaments I’ve ever played.’’
The three local Met Area players — Cam Young, Chris Gotterup and Max Greyserman — never made a run Sunday.
Gotterup, from Little Silver, N.J., finished tied for 10th at 3 under par for the week.
Young finished tied for 26th at even par, shooting 2 over for the weekend.
And Greyserman, from Short Hills, N.J., finished tied for 14th at 2 under par.
Kurt Kitayama surely couldn’t have entered his final round Sunday brimming with confidence after shooting 75 in Saturday’s third round.
So, where exactly did Sunday’s 7-under-par 63, the low round of the tournament, come from?
“The putter god,’’ Kitayama said. “One of those rounds for me that the putter clicked. I was just rolling it. It was just lights out for me.’’
Kitayama’s round got him to 3 under-par for the tournament and earned him 10th place, which qualifies him for the 2027 PGA.
When asked after his round to predict the winning score, Kitayama called 8 under.
He was one off.
Aaron Rai won at 9 under.
At age 54, Padraig Harrington, the 2008 PGA Championship winner, had a magical finish, carding three consecutive 3s on his card, with an eagle on 16 and a hole-out birdie on 18, to shoot 69.
He finished 1 under par for the week, following his opening-round 74 with three rounds in the 60s — 69, 67, 69.
Ben Kern was going to be the low club pro all along this weekend considering he was the only one among the 20 in the field to make the cut.
Kern finished 10 over for the tournament in his third PGA Championship.
Kern was paired with three-time European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who shot 69 to Kern’s 72. “What a great person,’’ Kern said. “When I saw that pairing come through [Saturday] night, I’m like, ‘This is going to be a nice walk on Sunday at a major.’ And it was.’’
